Arrow

ABSTRACT

An arrow ( 10 ) for use in hunting or sport archery, includes a shaft ( 3 ) of variable materials, profiles and lengths; an aerodynamically profiled head ( 4 ) of variable materials and shapes, having blades or knives if designed for hunting use; a nock ( 1 ) for connecting the arrow to the string of a bow; a fletching ( 20 ) for stabilizing the flight of the arrow, which is composed of a plurality of aerodynamically profiled thin vanes ( 2 ), equally spaced over the outer profile of the arrow and defined by an aerodynamically profiled surface ( 2 B) and a transverse foot ( 2 A). Each vane is fitted into a corresponding slit or aperture ( 3 A) formed in the shaft ( 3 ) and its aerodynamically profiled surface ( 2 B) projects out of the slit ( 3 A). Each vane so fitted is held in position by its foot ( 2 A) which is retained within the shaft while abutting against the corresponding surface ( 3 B).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention finds application in the field of sport and/or hunting archery, and namely relates to a novel arrangement for mounting the fletching to the arrow before shooting. The term fletching is intended to designate the assembly of elements (generally three), arranged in equally spaced positions on the back of the arrow to stabilize its flight, and also known as compensation vanes. With the present arrangement, these compensating or stabilizing vanes may be easily removed and replaced when damaged, or when a different arrow orientation is desired.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The vanes that are currently used in the art are thin, light, mainly made of synthetic material, and thus likely to be damaged.

The fletching is formed by gluing, which means that each vane is glued to the outer circumference of the nock, using special jigs or adequate equipment to ensure maximum inclination accuracy between one vane and the other.

Such accurate mounting process is carried out in a laboratory and requires specially skilled operators. It is an important operation, because the vane positions affect arrow flight precision.

Furthermore, it may happen that certain vanes come off during shooting.

Various attempts have been made heretofore to find mounting methods other than gluing. One of these is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,976,043, in which two orthogonal cuts are formed on the back of the arrow body, so that four slots are obtained to receive the fletching. Nevertheless, these cuts that extend to the rear end cause the arrow body to be structurally weakened, particularly if such body is made of aluminum or composite materials.

Other attempts have been focused on interchangeable fletching units that can be mounted around the arrow shaft, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,307, or fixed on the rear end of the arrow shaft, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,695,727.

These solutions suffer from a number of drawbacks; first, the interchangeable units are bulky and heavy and may affect arrow aerodynamics and balancing.

Also, all the vanes need to be replaced, even when only one of them is damaged.

Finally, especially in the case disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,695,727, screw coupling to the nock (the arrow shaft) is required, which leads to various drawbacks, such as:

-   -   Uncertain coaxiality between the interchangeable unit and the         axis of the nock, which gives no guarantee about perfect         ballistic orientation     -   Impossibility to properly set the position of the added unit         relative to the shaft body, namely for the use of arrows with         crossbows     -   Impossibility of forming threads in carbon shafts, which cannot         be threaded     -   Impossibility of forming threads in aluminum shafts because,         although aluminum is suitable for thread formation, these shafts         are not of suitable thickness therefor.

DISCLOSURE AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a novel arrow for use in hunting and sport archery, which has an improved arrangement for mounting and/or replacement of the fletching, eliminating the gluing step and its implications in favor of a mechanical mounting arrangement, that ensures perfect performance by anyone and everywhere (field replacement).

Namely, each vane is fitted into a corresponding slot or aperture formed on the arrow shaft and projects therefrom; each vane so inserted is held in position by its foot which is retained within the shaft while abutting against the corresponding surface.

This arrow allows easy mounting and field replacement during hunting or sport use, and only requires replacement of the damaged vanes, no thread forming being needed; coupling occurs on the shaft, thereby allowing size reduction, controlled weight and arrow balancing.

The following advantages are thus obtained:

-   -   Perfect axial and radial positioning because the slits on the         shaft are formed by numerical-control machines,     -   Reduced turbulence during the flight, because the vane foot         remains within the shaft, thereby increasing shooting accuracy         and considerably delaying the parabola effect thereby obtaining         a straight shoot,     -   Considerable volume reduction for shipment, with shafts and         vanes being handles separately, because mounting may be         performed by anyone.

These objects and advantages are all achieved by the arrow and arrangement for mounting the fletching according to this invention, which is characterized by the content of the annexed claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

This and other features will be more apparent from the following description of a few embodiments, which are shown by way of example and without limitation in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1: a side view of the present arrow

FIG. 2: the cross section A-A of the arrow at the fletching

FIG. 3: an enlarged view of the section of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4: a cross-sectional and exploded view of a detail of the rear portion of the present arrow

FIG. 5: a perspective view of the fletching components with the present mechanical mounting arrangement,

FIG. 6: a first step of the mechanical vane mounting process

FIG. 7: a second step of the mechanical vane mounting process.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Particularly referring to the above FIGS. 1 to 7, numeral 10 generally designates an arrow for use in hunting or sport archery according to the invention; it is generally composed of the following parts:

-   -   A shaft 3 (or rod) of variable materials, profiles and lengths,         generally of circular cross-section (cross sections of FIGS. 2         and 3);     -   An aerodynamically profiled head 4 (or cusp) of variable         materials and shapes or, if designed for hunting use, with         blades or knives;     -   A nock 1 (or rear end) for connecting the arrow 10 to the string         of the bow,     -   A fletching 20 on the rear of the shaft 3, for stabilizing the         flight of the arrow 10, which is composed of a plurality, of         thin aerodynamically profiled vanes 2 (or feathers), two to six         according to the use or the taste of the archer, equally spaced         over the outer profile of the arrow (3)

In modern sport and hunting arrows, the shafts are formed of wood, aluminum, carbon and also aluminum/carbon.

Sport arrows are usually very light, to improve speed and facilitate straight shots. They must have a high construction accuracy to ensure constant linearity and weight.

The invention will be now described more in detail.

The rear of the shaft 3 will be formed with a series of slits or apertures 3A, or slots of a size matching the thickness of the vanes 2, for the latter to radially project out of the shaft 3.

Each vane 2 is composed of an aerodynamically profiled surface 2B joined to a foot 2A transverse to the surface 2B.

The profiled surface 2B is the one with flight stabilizing properties and may be radial to the shaft 3, and project out of the corresponding slit 3A, whereas the foot 2A remains within the shaft 3 and prevents the vane 2 from fully coming out, allowing it to abut against the corresponding inner surface 3B of the shaft 3, also with the help of an end 9 that fits into the shaft 3, and has a corresponding diameter to hold the vanes in adequate locked positions 2.

Such end 9 has a first diameter 9A that matches at least the inner cavity defined by the interior diameter of the shaft 3, less the space occupied by the thickness of the corresponding feet 2A.

Also, the end 9 may have a second diameter 9B, corresponding to the inner cavity defined by the interior diameter of the shaft 3.

The end 9 may extend from the nock 1 or be a distinct element.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show two mounting steps; in the first step, the vane 2 is introduced into the shaft 3 using a rod-like tool 7 (such as tweezers); in the second step, the profile 2B is picked up, using the same tool 7, on the corresponding slot 3A.

While the slot 3A of the figures is straight and extends along the axis of the shaft 3, it can also have a curvilinear profile, as required by the arrangement of the corresponding vane 2. 

1. An arrow (10) for use in hunting or sport archery, comprising a shaft (3) of variable materials, profiles and lengths; a head (4) of variable materials and shapes; a nock (1) for connecting the arrow (10) to the string of a bow; a fletching (20) for stabilizing the flight of the arrow (10), which is composed of a plurality of thin aerodynamically profiled vanes (2), equally spaced over the outer profile of the arrow (3) and defined by an aerodynamically profiled surface (2B) and a transverse foot (2A), characterized in that a. each vane (2) is fitted into a corresponding slit or aperture (3A) formed in said shaft (3) and its aerodynamically profiled surface (2B) projects out of said slit (3A); b. each vane (2) so fitted is held in position by its foot (2A) which is retained within the shaft (3) while abutting against the corresponding surface (3B).
 2. An arrow (10) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the assembly of vanes (2) is held in position against its corresponding surface (3B) by means of a shank (9) which fits into the shaft (3), and has a diameter (9A) at least corresponding to the inner cavity defined by the internal diameter of the shaft (3) less the space occupied by the thickness of the feet (2A).
 3. An arrow (10) as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that said shank (9) has a second diameter (9B) corresponding to the inner cavity defined by the internal diameter of the shaft (3).
 4. An arrow (10) as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that said shank (9) extends from the nock (1).
 5. An arrow (10) as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that said shank (9) is a distinct element, separate from the nock (1).
 6. An arrow (10) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said slits (3A) are straight and extend along the axis of the shaft (3).
 7. An arrow (10) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said slits (3A) are curvilinear and extend along the axis of the shaft (3). 